Self Portrait
by xpiester333x
Summary: Zoro meets a strange man at the bar who prefers to only communicate through picture messages. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
1. Chapter 1

Zoro wasn't much of a go-out-and-get-drunk guy. Bars were alright and all, but he much preferred the privacy of his own home (or Luffy's if he was with his friends, as Luffy had the tendency of breaking things). Small groups of friends Zoro could handle, but crowded bars filled with people steadily getting more and more inebriated were not really his thing.

Unfortunately for Zoro his friends were far more outgoing than he was, and sometimes he found himself alone in his opinion that they all go to Luffy's and hang out there. Tonight was one of those nights. Zoro found himself alone at the bar, sipping steadily at his drink and scanning the dance floor and pool tables for signs of his friends. Nami was racking up cash playing pool, which was pretty typical, and Luffy seemed to have realized wings were on special tonight and was swallowing them down faster than they could be served to him. Usopp was harder to spot, and it wasn't until the song changed to the kind of irritating music style Zoro had been forced to listen to a million times that he found his long-nosed friend.

Sure enough, Usopp was standing on the DJ's platform, directing the crowd in some sort of chant. He was wasted, the poor guy, and Zoro didn't envy him for the hangover he was going to have tomorrow. Well, at least he was safe for now. None of them had started a bar fight yet, and that was good enough for Zoro as he turned around and returned to his drink.

"Could I get a whiskey sour?" A voice shouted past Zoro to the bartender. The woman nodded once in acknowledgement and began mixing the drink.

"Do you mind?" The same voice asked as a man slid up next to him, tugging off his scarf and jacket and sliding onto the barstool to Zoro's right. The bar was crowded tonight but so far Zoro had been able to keep the unruly drunk strangers away from him with a few harsh glares. Zoro spent a lot of time training his body and it showed; most people took note of it right away and steered clear. This guy clearly couldn't pick up on Zoro's 'go away' vibes though, and Zoro found himself begrudgingly shifting in his seat to make room for the newcomer.

"Thanks," The man smiled gratefully. "It's been a rough night and I could really use a break."

Zoro didn't bother asking what was wrong. That was inviting a whole conversation that Zoro wasn't interested in having. He just wanted to enjoy his drink in peace until Nami decided it was time for them to leave.

Fortunately the blond man next to him seemed to be okay with Zoro's vow of silence and preoccupied himself with his phone instead. It was one of those fancy affairs with a touch screen and a ton of apps for just about anything you could think of. Those kinds of things were too complicated for Zoro, he got angry the one time Nami asked him to make a call on hers. In his opinion a phone only needed to make calls, maybe shoot the occasional text. It didn't need to have wifi, GPS, and an app about how to cook anything.

Zoro watched with mild curiosity as the guy opened the camera on his phone and lined up a shot of his drink. The camera on his screen mimicked a shutter closing and reopened to reveal a clear and crisp image of the drink. He watched as the blond tapped the screen of his phone a few more times before setting it aside with a satisfied sigh, picking his drink up for the first time since it had been set down in front of him.

That seemed to be the end of the man's strange behavior for now. Zoro had no idea why the guy felt it necessary to take a picture of his drink, but he wasn't really that concerned about it. Maybe the guy was one of those artsy types. He certainly looked the part, with mussed looking blond hair that fell over one eye, concealing it from view (didn't that get annoying?) and a neatly trimmed goatee. His clothes fit the part as well; a neatly pressed, pinstriped blue shirt tucked into tight fitting dark slacks. The almost formal appearance was thrown with the addition of a studded leather belt and a silver wallet chain that hung on his hip. He wore a tie as well, but it had been loosened and the first few buttons of his shirt undone to reveal a surprisingly defined chest that didn't quite fit his slender appearance.

Definitely the artsy type, Zoro decided. Probably took a picture of everything he drank during the day and put it on the internet for other artsy people to ooh and ahh over. Definitely not his type of thing, but to each their own he supposed.

Zoro's attention drifted again, now that he seemed to have figured out the blond man next to him he was in need of a new distraction. He watched as Usopp led the crowd in some sort of dance of his own invention. It seemed to be working, and Zoro could see the self-satisfied look on his drunken friend's face. Well, let him enjoy his victory while it lasted. He'd pay for it tomorrow.

Zoro's attention had barely made it half way around the bar when a buzzing sound interrupted his observations. He could feel the buzzing as well as hear it, and his eyes landed on the phone the blond had set on the bar. The screen had lit up, flashing a name, and that was all Zoro could see before the blond snatched it up and slid his finger across the screen.

He fiddled with it for a moment before letting out a bitter laugh.

"I think she's mad," He said to Zoro, titling the screen so Zoro could see. A feminine hand with the middle finger raised was the sole focus of the picture on the screen.

"Uh," Zoro replied unintelligibly. He wasn't really sure he wanted to know, but then again the picture raised just enough questions that his curiosity got the better of him. "Your girlfriend?"

"I think?" The blond replied, sounding just as unsure of the answer as Zoro was. "She was-is…might still be? Hold on," He frowned, tapping his screen a couple of times before handing the device over to Zoro. "Do you mind?"

Zoro looked confused down at the object in his hand. The camera app had been opened again, and he could see the floor of the bar portrayed through the screen. "What?" He asked, feeling more confused than before.

"I need an extra pair of hands," The blond explained. "Usually I have Franky help me, but he's not here and I'd rather not wait so…" He settled into his seat, rolling his shoulders a little. "Do you mind?"

"You want me to take your picture?" Zoro asked in slight disbelief. He might have to revise his previous opinion on the guy. Artsy or not, he was pretty weird.

"Yes," The blond replied, looking exasperated. "Can you handle that, moss-brain?" The blonde asked, shooting a glance up at Zoro's hair.

"Shut up…" Zoro looked over the man's appearance, picking out the first feature that stood out. "Curly-brow." He settled on lamely. "This is a pretty weird request."

"Just help a guy out?" The guy asked.

Zoro sighed and held up the phone, aiming it carefully at the blond. It would probably be easier just to follow through with the guys request than it would be to argue about it.

Fortunately despite the complexities of the phone, the camera seemed pretty self-explanatory, the one large circular button on the screen was obviously the capture button. He trained his finger over it, ready to tap the button.

"Are you ready?" He asked the man.

"No, hold on," The blond rolled his shoulders again before raising them into a shrug and letting his face fall into one of question. Like he was asking for an explanation for something he didn't understand. "Okay," He said quickly before resuming his pose.

Zoro tapped the button before handing the phone back to the blond. The guy looked the picture over once before nodding in approval and sending it away with a few more taps on the screen. When he was finished he set it down on the bar again and returned to his drink as if nothing was amiss.

Zoro was debating moving himself someplace else away from the strange blond when the phone went off again, moving slightly on the bar with the force of its vibrations.

The blond snatched it up quickly looking over its contents before clicking his tongue. "Ah, she broke the rules," The blond sighed.

He could have been talking to Zoro, but Zoro didn't bother to reply and that didn't seem to disturb the blond in the slightest.

With another heavy sigh the man set his phone back onto the bar. "That's a 'was' now," He said to Zoro. "She _was_ my girlfriend."

"Oh," Zoro frowned down at his drink. "Sorry."

The blond shrugged. "It's not a big deal. We didn't have a lot in common, anyway. She was fun though. And great in bed, you know?" He chuckled, but the laughter died quickly. "Anyway, it wasn't really much of a relationship," He said, lifting his drink and tipping it in Zoro's direction. "Cheers."

Zoro watched the man swallow down his drink. Despite his carefree attitude about it, the man did seem genuinely kind of down. Zoro watched the man curiously as the blond ordered another drink.

Finally his confusion and need to know got the better of him. "What was with the picture?" He asked.

"Oh," The darkened look in the man's eyes momentarily fled. "It's a game. Well, kind of. You know, people have a million ways to communicate, but we get so caught up in speech that we forget it. You know the saying a picture is worth a thousand words, right?"

He paused, and Zoro realized he was actually waiting for an answer.

"Yeah," Zoro nodded, not looking any more enlightened than before.

"Well, I thought, what if instead of using words we used pictures to communicate?" The blond announced with a proud smile. He was obviously impressed with his own ingenious. "So instead of texts, I send pictures."

"Huh," Zoro pondered. "Sounds pretty complicated."

"Not really," The blond shrugged. "Look here, I'll show you. Give me your number."

"What?" Zoro frowned.

"Come on," The blond rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm some weirdo or something."

Zoro had seen enough eccentric and odd behavior out of the blond tonight to argue that statement, but a sense of intrigue stayed his tongue. He was a man of few words, after all, and like the blond had said, there were other ways to communicate besides speech. Still, he couldn't imagine how cell phone pictures could ever be used as a clear concise form of communication. And maybe it wasn't….given the fact that the blond had just been dumped after sending a few.

But at the same time, Zoro was curious. There were some things, ideas and phrases, he couldn't even imagine sending via picture. How did you send an abstract idea through a photograph of your booze?

The idea was absurd of course, but just intriguing enough that Zoro felt his lips moving before he'd even realized he'd been speaking.

"3-8-2-5," He was recited, his brain finally catching up to the fact that he'd just given out his number to a stranger in the bar.

The blond had been ready for it, and typed the last few numbers in as Zoro spoke them.

"What's your name?" The blond asked.

"Zoro," He replied immediately, again before his mind had a chance to bash him with common sense.

"Perfect," The blond smiled, tapping the name into his phone and adding it to his contacts. "I should get going now. Early morning tomorrow," He stood, pulling his scarf and jacket off the back of his seat, piling them on as he prepared to leave.

"You're leaving already?" Zoro asked, confused. "I thought you were going to show me pictures or something."

The man laughed. "It doesn't do me any good if you're sitting right here! You'll have to see what I mean tomorrow."

Zoro scowled, wondering just what he'd gotten himself into and wondering if Nami knew how to block numbers from his phone. He didn't like texting on a good day, let alone messaging a total stranger.

"Besides," The man added looking down at him. "I just got a cutie's number. I should quit while I'm ahead," He winked.

Zoro sputtered and reddened. The blond had already proven to be unpredictable; Zoro really shouldn't have been surprised. And of course surprise was the only reason for Zoro's reaction!

"See you later," The blond smiled, turning and making his way out of the bar.

"Wait!" Zoro called.

The blond stopped some ways away and threw him an inquisitive look.

"I didn't get your name!"

The man considered this for a moment before holding up one finger in a 'wait a moment' gesture and disappearing from the bar. Of course that didn't answer Zoro's question at all, but with a heavy sigh he resigned himself to the fact that he'd never know the blond man's name, and he'd probably never actually hear from him either. Not that he cared much; the guy was weird.

He was just about to track down Nami and ask her to call it a night when he felt the telltale vibration of his own phone in his pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it open. It was a basic black flip phone model; something fairly sturdy and always reliable.

He read the strange number above the incoming picture message icon. It wasn't one he recognized, though it had a local area code and he thought he could figure out who it was.

Sure enough when he opened the message, an all too familiar face greeted him. It was obvious the picture had been taken in the parking lot. The lighting was dim save for the harsh glare of a street lamp, casting a washed out glow over the golden hair and making it appear almost white. Shadows couldn't hide the distinctive eyebrow though, and they definitely couldn't hide the kilowatt smile the blonde was wearing. It was a pleasant expression on the man's face, and if Zoro hadn't noticed it in the bar, he definitely couldn't help but notice how attractive the blond man was.

Below the photo of the beaming blond there was a single word:

_Sanji._

* * *

**A/N:**

Soooo, originally this was just going to be a short PWP (or maybe porn with very little plot) based on a prompt from the OTP prompts tumblr:

_Imagine your OTP sending each other sexy and silly selfies._

But then I started writing it, and almost 2,500 words later I realized all I'd really done is written an intro. So this is going to be a multichapter now I guess XD

I have no idea how long it will be. I could wrap it up in three parts or drag it on for more. To be honest I only have the vaguest idea where this is going right now. We shall see how it goes. It promised to be _fairly _angst free though, I'm giving you guys a little break here.

And also, I am not giving up on TEoiA, in fact now that this is written I'm going to spend the next couple of days working on the next chapter. Sorry that's taking so long

Anyway, let me know what you think and thank you for reading! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

Zoro woke the next morning to the sound of Nami banging around the kitchen. It was fortunate he didn't suffer hangovers; if Usopp had to live with the woman Zoro imagined he'd be suffering right about now.

Of course the lack of hang over didn't stop him from being irritated that he had been woken up so early. The down side to sharing an apartment with the only other person in their group of friends that had an alcohol tolerance as high as his was that Nami frequently got up early, and of course the selfish witch didn't care if her morning activities happened to wake her roommate.

Zoro glared at his alarm clock on the bedside table. The blue digital numbers read '9:17' and Zoro groaned, burying his head under his pillow in an attempt to drown out the racket. He'd hardly been asleep five hours since Nami had insisted on keeping them at the bar until three. Apparently she was making easy money and couldn't let the opportunity go.

"If you're up I could use your help," Nami called too-loudly from the doorway of his room. He peaked his head out long enough to take in the fact that she had once again ignored his right to privacy and invited herself into his room.

"Knock," He growled, once again hiding his head from view.

"Why?" She shrugged. "It's not like you've got anything I haven't seen before."

The thought was disturbing enough that Zoro knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep. Fucking witch, no doubt that's why she'd said it. He'd known Nami for a long time, long enough to count her as family more than friend, so the idea of her having an active sex life disturbed him to no end.

"Don't give me that look," She smirked as he emerged from beneath his pillow. She looked a tad too proud of herself and it pissed Zoro off. "It's not like you didn't know I've had sex before."

Zoro cringed but chose to ignore her, shuffling over to his dressed and pulling a pair of sweats from within. He'd learned long ago that arguing with Nami only made his suffering worse, and right now she was inflicting some of the worst torture imaginable.

He could feel her eyes on him as he made to put his pants on. He turned, catching her in the act of surveying his nearly naked body and he suddenly felt very conscious of his…freshly awoken physical state.

"You know, it's a shame you're not into women," She sighed wistfully.

"Get out!" He bellowed, kicking the nearest piece of laundry on the floor in her direction. He heard her evil laughter down the hall and moved to slam his door shut behind her. If the apartments in this shitty town weren't so damn expensive he'd start looking for one of his own right now.

One he was dressed (or at least he'd bothered to put pants on) he made a slight detour to the bathroom before going to find out what it was the Nami felt he needed to be up to help with. She was standing in the kitchen, hands on her hips as she helplessly surveyed the workspace. The cabinets looked ransacked and for one sleep deprived moment Zoro wondered if they'd been robbed in the middle of the night. Then he realized _Nami_ was the burglar and that was the reason for all the noise this morning.

"What are you doing?" He asked her with a heavy sigh. If she asked him to kill another cockroach for her he might crack. Fortunately as she turned to face him, her eyes didn't read fear, just mild annoyance.

"I can't find the spatula," She said.

Zoro surveyed the mess in the kitchen. The cabinets and drawers had clearly been rifled through, and their contents shoved haphazardly back inside. Sever hung open or slightly ajar due to their misfit innards and Zoro couldn't imagine the need to make such a mess over a single spatula.

"Couldn't you just use a fork?" He asked with a frustrated sigh.

"I was going to make pancakes!" Nami frowned, shaking a box of pancake mix at him. "I can't flip a pancake with a fork."

"So find the spatula," He grumbled, opening the fridge and pulling out the milk jug.

"That's what I've been trying to do all morning," She ground out, irritation breaking into rage as she watched Zoro open the milk and raise the jug to his lips. "And don't drink that out of the jug! Get a cup!" She screeched, smacking his hand and causing a glob of milk to slosh from the container and onto Zoro's chest.

He glared at her irritably, setting the jug aside and snatching up the dish towel dabbing up the splashed milk from his chest. "What the hell is your problem?" He snapped.

"You're an uncivilized Neanderthal," She replied, matching his glare with one of her own. "Now find the spatula! You were the last to use it!"

Zoro's glare left her and scanned the kitchen. He wanted to find the damn thing just to show up the damn witch. His eyes landed on the pile of clean dishes in the strainer. The whole pile looked untouched. As neither he nor Nami especially liked spending more time on the dishes than was necessary, they usually managed to wash them and set them in the strainer, and then take clean dishes from there until it was empty again. Rarely did the clean dishes ever actually make it back to their appropriate homes.

Seeing that the dishes in the strainer had escaped the woman's whirlwind search, he curiously lifted the large metal mixing bowl from the top, setting it aside to reveal the spatula.

"That was really hard," He grumbled, earning him a quick jab to the stomach.

"Thank you," Nami said tersely, moving to take the spatula from the strainer. "Now get out of here before I decide not to make some for you too."

Zoro scoffed but obeyed, only because Nami actually made some decent pancakes. He was fully awake now and figured it would probably be best to get an early start on his morning exercises.

Zoro was on his one hundredth sit up when Nami emerged from the kitchen, baring a plate of pancakes and a mug of fresh coffee. Zoro sat up properly and accepted both from her eagerly. Working out without eating first always left him feeling twice as starved later, and he was relieved to see Nami had been generous with his portion.

"By the way," She called from the kitchen, grabbing her own plate and mug before joining him in the living room again. She sat herself on the couch but Zoro remained on the floor. Nami had thrown enough hissy fits about his sweating on the couch that he'd learned not to bother trying to sit on the couch after a workout.

"Your phone went off earlier by the way," She said, jerking her head in the direction of where his phone sat plugged into its charger. "A couple of times," She added with a smirk that suggested she knew something she wasn't letting on.

Zoro simply grunted his acknowledgement and moved to pull his phone off the charger. It was pretty unusual for his phone to go off in the morning. Most of his friends knew better than to try to get a hold of him before noon. Work maybe? He was scheduled to come in later in the day, but maybe they wanted him earlier?

He flipped open his phone curiously, expecting to see a missed call from his job. Instead however, he saw he had two new picture messages. The memory of the blond man in the bar came back to him and he curiously opened the pictures.

"Is that from the hot guy last night?" Nami asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye suggesting she already knew the answer.

Zoro ignored her in favor of making sense of the pictures. Now that he was awake and confronted with a text from the man, Sanji, he remembered the blonde explaining that he only texted using pictures. It was a game of his, and Zoro had stupidly given the stranger his number out of curiosity. He supposed this was his first taste of the nonsensical picture game that Sanji played.

The first picture was the sunrise. It was taken through the screen of a window, and the sun was barely visible from behind the other buildings on the landscape, but the orange tinge of light in the sky was unmistakable. It wasn't a pretty picture, by any means. With the screen and the buildings in the way, it looked like it had been taken by a complete amateur with no sense of aesthetics.

A picture was worth a thousand words though, Zoro remember, and he set about trying to find the message in his one. From the angle the picture was taken at, it was clear the blonde lived on an upper floor. The buildings in the picture ranged between three to five stories high, and Sanji's window seemed about level with them.

So he lived on an upper floor. That was interesting, but not particularly useful information. That probably wasn't the point of the picture, Zoro assumed, so he filed that bit of knowledge away and thought about what else the picture was telling him.

It was dawn in the picture. Zoro hadn't seen the sunrise in a while, unless he was watching it rise after a long night out. Even on a day like today when he'd been woken up far too early for his liking, the sun had been up for a couple of hours. Clearly the blond was an early riser…but Zoro remembered him saying as much the night before. Sanji had mentioned he had an early morning today, so this information really didn't tell Zoro anymore than he already knew.

This really wasn't his kind of game, Zoro decided. Pictures might be able to say a thousand words but none of them made any sense to Zoro. There was one more picture, and Zoro decided to open it before giving up on the whole thing.

The second picture was the blond himself, seated at a table with a cup of coffee in front of him, the black liquid reflecting an overhead light. He looked slightly tired, and his hair was even more mussed than it had been the night before, but he wore a happy smile as he took the picture. He had obviously just woken up, Zoro realized. He was in need of a shave and if Zoro looked close enough at the picture he could make out a reddened imprint on the side of the blond's face.

He looked happy though, his smile sincere and his eyes warm even through the tired blue haze. His appearance suggested that everything was good, even if it was the ass-crack of dawn.

Good…

Zoro opened up the previous picture up again, the one of the early morning sunrise barely peaking over the buildings.

Morning…

Zoro smiled triumphantly, proud of himself for solving the blond's obscure riddle.

"_Good morning,"_ He texted back, feeling just a tad too smug.

"Did something good happen?" Nami asked, curious about her friend's suddenly joyous look.

Zoro quickly rearranged his expression to one more or less disinterested and shrugged. "Just a text from a friend. He told a good joke."

"Zoro," Nami sighed. "I know your friends, none of them tell good jokes."

"Hey!" Zoro snapped. "Johnny and Yosaku tell some pretty hilarious jokes!" Which he knew wasn't the truth, because mostly their jokes just left Zoro feeling irritable and in need of a punching bag, but he didn't have to tell Nami that.

Nami was ready to reply when the small vibrating device in Zoro's hand cut her off and she lost his attention again.

Zoro looked curiously down at his phone. Sure enough, he'd received another picture message. He was a little surprised; he hadn't expected to hear back from the man so soon. Then again, Zoro wasn't really used to text messaging, so most of his friends rarely bothered to text him. He responded much quicker to a phone call.

The picture was of the blond again, and Zoro wondered if he'd ever grow bored of the man's appearance. Sanji had an expressive face, capable of conveying a wide variety of emotions, so he supposed probably not. Right now Zoro was looking at a picture of Sanji holding a finger up. If the picture could move, Zoro was sure he would be wagging it in disapproval, if the look on his face was anything to go by.

Sanji was frowning, his lips pulled downward in a clear sign of dissatisfaction. The one curled eyebrow that wasn't hidden under the curtain of golden hair was furrowed and the blue eye beneath it was darkened slightly in mild frustration.

What was he upset about, Zoro could hazard a guess. After all, the only word the blond had ever texted him was his name. Still, Zoro didn't know the blond had expected him to play along with his game! How was he supposed to do that? He didn't have the sunrise to show it was morning like the blond did, so how was he supposed to return the greeting properly?

Zoro pondered for a minute, staring into the mug of coffee Nami had brought him. He wasn't sure how Sanji drank that stuff black; he had to load his own with cream to be able to stomach it. Truthfully he wasn't much of a coffee fan, but he appreciated the caffeine boost in the morning.

He blinked, registering the fact that he was enjoying his morning coffee with a generous helping of pancakes. Something he would only ever be able to do in the morning…and on a good morning at that.

With another triumphant smile he opened the camera feature of his phone. His camera was much lower in quality than the blond's. The picture displayed on the screen was hardly crisp and clear, but it was good enough to get the message across.

But how to tell Sanji that it was not only morning (a fact the blond could easily have determined just by looking at a clock) but a good one? Zoro considered it for a moment, frowning thoughtfully.

Finally he came up with a solution, and pointed his camera at his breakfast. Before he snapped the shot however, he put his hand in the scene and gave a thumbs up. His meal was still visible and delicious looking in the background, and in the foreground his hand showed his happiness and approval with the meal. It was a good morning indeed.

"Did you just thumbs up your breakfast…" Nami paused, looking at him like he'd grown a third head. "And then take a picture of it?"

Zoro's face turned red, though he'd swear it was the heat from the coffee and not actually because he was blushing. His mind had been so filled with thoughts of the blond and his success in taking a meaningful picture that he'd completely forgotten that Nami had been watching him closely this whole time.

"You did, didn't you?" Nami laughed, cackling merrily at her discovery. "What was that? Are you going to start a food blog? And sit in coffee shops and drink fancy drinks that are more syrup than coffee?" She gasped, attempting to breathe through her hysterical laughter. "Are you going to wear a scarf with a t-shirt?"

Zoro grit his teeth. He could always count on Nami to make him feel like an idiot. "I'm not turning into a damn hipster…it was just for..." He trailed off, feebly trying to think up a quick excuse. "A thing," He finished lamely.

"A thing?" Nami chuckled. She was still laughing, but her laughter had quieted down to silent chuckles and a few uncontained giggles. She wiped a tear from her eye before continuing. "What kind of thing?"

Zoro had expected this question. It had been a pretty weak excuse after all, and Nami was a naturally curious person. He knew he wasn't going to be able to leave it at that. Which is why he'd already made preparations to run. He'd already slipped his phone into the pocket of his sweats and gathered up his plate and his coffee. Of course he couldn't leave them behind; Nami would never let him finish his breakfast if he fled without them.

"Hey what are you doing?" She asked as he stood and briskly made his way down the hall.

"What kind of thing?" She asked again to his retreating form. "You can't just run away! Zoro!"

But Zoro ignored her, not stopping until he'd reached the sanctity of his room. Quickly he propped his desk chair under the handle, creating a makeshift lock to keep her out until she'd calmed down (which she'd no doubt do by plotting revenge).

Once his chair was set and his breakfast had been carefully placed onto his night stand, he pulled his phone out of his pocket again. It took him a moment to figure out how to send the picture message. He'd never actually sent one before, though he learned quickly that it wasn't that much different than sending a regular text. Pictures attached to the message, Zoro took a deep breath (feeling suddenly a little nervous about his first attempt at this) and hit send.

* * *

Sanji felt the buzz of his phone in his pocket. He was supposed to be working, but he couldn't resist the urge to slip away for a moment to check the message. He had no doubt who it would be from, and he'd been looking forward to it.

The first picture on Sanji's screen was a large, tanned-skin hand, flashing a thumbs up in front of a healthy helping of pancakes and a mug of hot coffee. Sanji couldn't help but laugh at the picture as he imagined the sullen looking green-haired man taking it.

He was surprised that Zoro had participated in his game. He partly expected the man to send him back another text message, something irritable about how he didn't have time to send stupid pictures. It wouldn't have been the first time Sanji had received that kind of response. His little hobby tended to annoy people, but their bothersome, expressionless text messaged tended to bore him in return. It was no wonder most people stopped contacting him after a time.

Sanji had expected no different out of this man; his irritable scowl and the way he practically radiated "keep away from me" vibes, Sanji had expected he'd never hear from the guy again. He certainly hadn't expected a picture, one that sent him a very clear message:

_Good morning to you too, Sanji._

* * *

**A/N:**

Well I certainly didn't expect this to be so popular! How did that happen?

Thank you guys so much! Your reviews were wonderful and everyone seems interested! I wrote this up as fast as possible just for you guys! Thank you!

This is kind of an experiment for me. It may seem a little OOC at times. I'm sort of breaking out of my usual Zoro/Sanji characterization a little bit. The gold is to keep them believably in character, if not exactly canonically(is that a word?) in character. Does that make sense?

Basically I want to write in character zosan, but I'm sort of stretching the bounds of the character I usually keep too.

Any feedback is most welcome (though I'd prefer you keep it constructive so I learn from it)!

Thank you all again, very much! I hope you enjoyed~


	3. Chapter 3

Zoro was finishing his breakfast in the peace and quiet of his bedroom when a sudden pounding on the door startled him out of his own thoughts.

"You know, I was going to give you a ride to work today, but if you're going to be an ass you can walk!" Nami shouted from the other side. She attempted to fling the door open again, and Zoro couldn't help but snicker at the frustrated noise she made when she realized she couldn't.

The ride would be much appreciated though. It had been a cold October so far and the frigid air often left Zoro's face and hands stinging after he'd walked. That in mind, he fixed his face into the most apologetic expression he could muster and pulled the chair away from the knob, allowing the redhead to spill into his room.

"Yes, I want a ride," He admitted. "I have to be there by noon. Can you leave so I can get dressed?"

Nami folded her arms across her chest and huffed in irritation. "I don't know why you think I'd actually give you a ride now. You've been so rude to me all morning. You locked me out of your room!"

Her complaints continued endlessly as the list of offenses Zoro had committed (though most of them were actually completely reasonable) piled up, but she left the room anyway, allowing Zoro a moment of peace to change clothes. He could hear her grumbling and occasionally shouting angrily at him from the living room, but he chose to ignore it for the moment.

He slipped on his usual work attire; a decent pair of jeans with minimal tearing and a clean t-shirt with the store's logo on the front. It was a casual and comfortable uniform and just one of the many perks of Zoro's job.

Despite the fact that she was still mumbling curses and complaints about him, Nami sat ready to go with her keys in her hands, waiting for him. As soon as he emerged from his bedroom her complaints finally ceased.

"About time! Let's go or we're going to be late!" She frowned, standing up and making her way for the door.

Zoro sent the living room clock a glance, if they left now Zoro would be on time even if traffic was bad, but he decided to keep that to himself for the moment. No doubt Nami knew that herself anyway. He quickly slipped into his shoes and pulled his coat from the rack by the door. He was set to head out the door before a sudden thought occurred to him.

He hadn't heard back from the blond since he'd messaged him the picture of his breakfast this morning. The other man was probably at work, Zoro assumed, since he'd had to be up so early. That thought arose another question in Zoro's mind; where did the blond man work?

He hadn't really tried to picture the blond at work before, figuring with his odd sense of style and even odder interest in communicating with pictures that Sanji was probably the unemployed artsy type or maybe a college student. He had to have a source of income some kind though, didn't he? Unless he was some rich kid whose parents paid for everything…

Zoro was curious, and the fact that he wasn't sure how to go about asking Sanji himself these questions only served encourage the flame of that curiosity. How did you ask a question through a picture? How was he going to find out more about the blond if he couldn't ask? Was he supposed to wait for more pictures to come and make assumptions about them to get a picture of the blond's life? That didn't seem like a horribly accurate way to gather information, but Zoro was stumped for what else to do.

There was one solution, the only one he could think up given his situation, but he would have to make it work. If he wanted to know more about the strange blond, maybe he should share more about himself first. His information might prompt the blond to share things about himself in kind, or so he hoped.

He turned, ignoring Nami's irritated calls for him to "stop dicking around", and held his phone camera up to the calendar that hung in their living room. He and Nami kept the crappy promotional calendar some salesman had given Nami to attempt to advertise himself. Every month featured a picture of the clean cut salesman (Nami had nicknamed him Renaldo) showing off a different product. Despite the fact that it added very little to the décor of their small apartment, the large boxes that made up each day were excellent for keeping track of their work schedules and appointments.

Zoro snapped the picture of today's date with the words "Work 12-9" written in green ink. It would have to do for the moment and he hastily attached the photo to a picture message and hit the send button as Nami screeched at him about wasting her valuable time. Photo successfully sent he humbly apologized to Nami to keep her from disturbing their neighbors and meekly followed her to her car.

* * *

Sanji's phone buzzed in his pocket again, but it would be a minute before he could step away. The lunch rush never failed to hit them all at once and God only knows what would happen if he stepped away for even a moment. He'd probably come back to find the other cooks in the fetal position and the grill on fire; he couldn't risk it.

On a normal day he would have left his phone in the office, but he'd been far too eager to see if Zoro would play his game. He'd been pleasantly surprised that he had; what were the odds of the guy being hot and adventurous enough to try something new? He sincerely hoped the message he'd just received was another message from the green-haired hottie and not a nagging text from his old man. Oh how he hoped.

There was a slight lull in between orders, the last one in a rush of about ten had just been plated and the waiter was taking the next order for a couple that had just walked in. If there was a moment Sanji could slip away to check his messages without the kitchen falling to pieces, this was it.

Sanji slipped into the office, just long enough to pull his phone from his pocket and check the message. He sighed with relief that it was a picture message (his old man had barely figured out texting, pictures were still beyond him). With a smile he opened the message to get a better look at the picture.

It seemed to be a calendar, a box with the number thirteen marked inside was all Sanji could really make out. The month wasn't pictured, but Sanji was going to take a wild guess and say this was a picture of today's date. That much decided, Sanji inspected the other elements of the photo.

Inside the box and just below the little thirteen in the corner, was the message "Work 12-9" written in green ink that matched the color of moss surprisingly well. It was no doubt the mossy haired man's schedule for today, but Sanji had no idea why the other man had sent it to him. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to text or respond during that time? Sanji could understand. He had the same issue at the moment, but he could wait until later, so…why?

One of the bus boys popped his head into the office.

"Sanji, one of the customers is complaining that his food is cold and Patty went to take care of him, but…"

Sanji groaned. Patty had the worst customer service skills imaginable, which is why Sanji never let him out in the dining area if he could help it. That will teach him to leave the kitchen for even a moment. With a regretful sigh he shut his phone in the top drawer of the desk and followed the bus boy out, hoping to amend the situation.

* * *

"You're acting strange," Nami commented as they pulled up to a traffic light.

"How?" Zoro asked, his scowl deepening in confusion. She'd finished her tirade when they got to the car, but since then they'd been sitting in disconcerting silence. Zoro wasn't a fool. Silence from Nami was a sure sign of her mind working out any puzzles presented to her.

And apparently she'd decided Zoro was one of those puzzles.

"With the pictures," Nami pointed out. "You hardly use your phone at all and now suddenly you're taking pictures of everything and sending them to everyone you know?"

"I'm not sending them to everyone I know! Just one person!" Zoro snapped defensively.

Nami grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Oh? So who is the lucky recipient?"

Zoro instantly realized his mistake. Nami was fishing for information, and he was practically handing it to her! He knew he was no match for Nami's conniving and quick wit, she often trapped him in this same manner, and by now he had learned his wisest course of action was to keep quiet.

Folding his arms over his chest he stubbornly refused to answer any of her persistent questions, and once again they lapsed into a tense silence. The war was far from over, but at least Zoro could claim victory over this battle.

They pulled up in front of Humming Brook's Record Shop with plenty of time to spare. The small little shop looked dingy and worn compared to the more modern architecture that surrounded it, but it boasted a unique collection of musical memorabilia, some of which was proudly put on display in the front window. The large shop sign upfront was weather faded so that the once vibrant colors were muted, but the fading only seemed to add to the historical draw of the shop.

On its surface the shop sold old vinyl records. It was only very recently that the store's owner, Brook (for whom the shop is named), had added the more contemporary option of CDs to their inventory. Vinyl records were more of a collector's item any more, and while the shop still offered them for sale (buy or trade, best offers in town!) CDs were more popular amongst the younger crowd.

The main source of income for the little store, however, did not come from their record sales. Over time, old man Brook had gathered quite a collection of valuable music related collectibles that were quite high in value; everything from drum kits used by a famous drummer to sheet music hand written by some long dead guitarist. So while on the surface they were a humble record shop, they were also a buy and sell for antique and valuable music related items. In the end, the little store did well enough for itself to keep in business, and it paid well enough for Zoro.

Nami put the car and park and looked to Zoro. "You can walk home, right? Don't get lost again. If you have to, stop and ask for directions."

"I know how to get home, Nami," Zoro scowled and made for the door handle.

One little reminder stopped him. His idea had been to take a picture of the record shop to show Sanji, so the other man would know where he worked. But during the nearly silent car ride, he'd wondered if just the picture of the shop would be enough. It wasn't exactly a well-known place, but it did have a reputation that tended to precede it. If the blond lived nearby, he probably had passed by the shop before. Would a picture of a random little record shop be enough to tell Sanji what exactly Zoro was trying to say? Even with the image of the calendar before, it was a stretch.

Zoro thought it was probably better for him to be in the picture. With his work shirt on, anyone could tell clearly Zoro worked there. That solution, however, only drew about another problem. If Zoro tried to take the picture himself, he wouldn't be able to get enough of the store in the background to convey the message. On the other hand, he couldn't very well photograph the store without himself in the picture, that only took him back to square one.

Perhaps he could send two separate pictures? It was certainly an option, though it seemed easier for the blond to understand if Zoro could take one with himself in it. Zoro would prefer it that way as well.

He'd thought about asking Brook to help him. The old man would probably gladly offer his assistance, but Brook had a hard time with electronic devices. It wasn't until very recently that the old musician even _touched _an electric guitar, and even the old fashioned cash register was a challenge for him to understand. Handing the man a cellphone and asking him to take a picture with it would probably end up being far more trouble than it was worth.

Zoro's eyes landed hopefully on Nami. Despite the fact that he refused to satisfy her curiosity, surely she would still be willing to help him out, right?

"What?" She frowned slightly, catching the gleam in his eye.

"Can you do me a favor?" He asked.

Nami sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, now you want a favor after giving me the cold shoulder?" She asked, sounding more than a little miffed. "What is it?"

"Can you just…" Zoro trailed off. It was a lot harder to ask Nami this favor than he'd thought. Given how curious she was about his knew picture hobby at the moment, he was sure to catch some kind of hell for this. "Can you just take my picture in front of the store?"

There was a beat of silence in which Nami raised one elegant eyebrow. Zoro could see the mockery glinting in her brown eyes and his scowl deepened. It had been a huge mistake to ask Nami. It would have been easier to teach Brook how to take the picture.

He made to get out of the car again, figuring on doing just that, when Nami grabbed his arm.

"Give me your phone, I'll take it," She said.

Zoro raised an eyebrow skeptically. Just a moment ago he had been sure she was going to make fun of him, or perhaps launch into another barrage of questions. At the moment, however, she looked like the perfect picture of helpfulness, like the genuinely caring friend she could be when there wasn't a potential for gain involved.

With a sigh and the feeling he was going to regret his actions, Zoro handed her his phone.

"Good," She smiled. "Now go stand in front of the shop."

Zoro did as he was told, slipping out of the car and standing what he felt was a reasonable distance in front of the shop. He waited impatiently while Nami took a moment to find the camera feature in his phone. While he waited he tried to figure out the best way to stand. He wasn't used to having his picture taken and suddenly his arms felt very awkward on the sides of his body. What was he supposed to do with them?

Nami finally seemed to have found the camera option and she held his phone up to position. In a sudden panic over what to with himself, Zoro folded his arms over his chest and held his pose until Nami lowered the phone again.

"You're _really_ photographic, Zoro," She snorted sarcastically.

Zoro ignored her snide remark and held his hand out for his phone, which she handed over to him. He busied himself with sending the picture to the blonde and failed to notice Nami's wicked grin.

"So his name's Sanji, huh?" She commented casually. "He's really hot."

Zoro's face reddened in a mixture of embarrassment and anger. He should have known better than to trust her, and in the time he had suspected she was spending figuring out his camera, she was actually snooping through his messages. Now she knew everything she wanted to know and he had literally handed all of the information to her!

"Have a good day!" Nami smiled, turning to get back into her car. "And tell Sanji I said 'hi'!"

Zoro snapped his phone shut, giving her a warning glare before he shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way into the store.

He pushed through the shop door with a little more force than necessary, causing the bells hanging from the door to jangle violently and startling a group of kids that had been searching through the CDs and marveling over the collectibles.

Zoro only turned his glare on them (teens were notorious shoplifters) before taking up his place behind the counter. He slipped his jacket off of his shoulders and hung it from the back of the chair by the register. Aside from the teenagers who were now shooting Zoro wary glances every time they flipped a CD, the store appeared empty. That wasn't entirely unusual; with a shop so small it wasn't uncommon for only one person to watch the store at a time, and sometimes when business was slow, boredom led them into the back room to work on unpacking merchandise or organizing for quicker inventory.

What was unusual was the eerie silence Zoro perceived. Usually he would hear someone in the backroom, the clack of CDs or the sound of the radio were common sounds when someone was working alone, but there was no sound except for the murmured whispers of their only customers.

Zoro was curious, and with one last warning look at the teens he headed to the backroom to investigate the odd silence.

"Hello?" He called, pushing through the storeroom door.

The sight that greeted him was nothing short of a disaster. Boxes were tossed carelessly in a pile, their contents spilled haphazardly over the floor. Some of the cases for CDs had cracked or shattered, and it was all one massively destroyed mess.

For one panicked moment Zoro thought they had been robbed, but a voice from beneath the chaotic mess of boxes spoke before he could think to call the police.

"Zoro? Is that you?" Brook's voice called out. His tone was casual and calm, but Zoro couldn't find him from among the mess.

"Brook?" Zoro called back, hoping to locate the owner by the sound of his voice.

"Yo ho ho ho," Brook laughed his unusual laugh. Zoro could never tell if the other man was truly laughing or if he was practicing his scales for singing, especially when his laugh was slow and each syllable clearly pronounced like that.

"I seem to have gotten into a bit of a fix," The store owner said. "Do you think you could lend me a hand and remove some of these boxes?"

Zoro realized with some shock that Brook's voice was actually coming from beneath the mess, and if he looked carefully he could make out patches of fabric that made up the other man's clothing.

"Shit, Brook!" Zoro swore, immediately tossing some of the boxes aside. He was careful not to tip more of their contents onto the buried man, but he tossed them aside without any regards for their wellbeing. Most of their product had been spilled or damaged anyway. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Well you see," Brook replied, pausing momentarily to attempt to sit up now that the weight of several boxes had been lifted from him. "I thought I would attempt to pull down the Halloween decorations, with the holiday approaching and all, but it seems we have an unstable shelf," He gestured above them to where one of the higher shelves had tipped, spilling their boxes down onto the shelves below them, dislodging several boxes from those shelves as well, creating a crushing avalanche of product.

"That's great, Brook," Zoro sighed, helping to free his boss's legs. "But the shelf probably wouldn't have tipped if you'd have used the ladder instead of trying to climb the shelves."

Brook scratched at his massive afro and had the decency to look a little sheepish. "I really hadn't thought of it…"

"And another thing," Zoro frowned, lending the man a hand in standing up. Brook was tall but incredibly thin and Zoro was amazed the man seemed relatively unharmed from the accident. "The Halloween decorations are over there," He pointed to his left, a low shelf with one box clearly labeled "HALLOWEEN" on the front.

Brook let out another peal of laughter, higher and more enthusiastic this time, so Zoro assumed it was real laughter.

"Well, what do you know!" Brook exclaimed. "It seems that my tumble was all for nothing!"

Zoro sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "Just…clean this up, okay? I'll watch the front," He said. It may have been overstepping his bounds by giving Brook an order, but there was no way he wanted to be the one to clean up this disaster.

"Of course!" Brook mock saluted him before turning to begin reorganizing the CDs and other items that had fallen.

Zoro returned to the front of the store, taking a seat at the register. The teens from before had moved away from the CD displays and were staring in awe at the shop's impressive vinyl record collection. Zoro wasn't surprised, some of those albums were older than _he _was, and they were certainly a relic from the past that most of today's youth wouldn't find at home.

It was clear these kids weren't going to shoplift or they would have been long gone already, so he picked up a magazine and flipped it open, hoping to kill some time reading it, at least until a better distraction came along.

He hoped that distraction would be in the form of a picture message from a certain blond.

* * *

**A/N:**

Heeey, long time no see! Sorry about the long break. The Christmas fic I had to write for an exchange ended up being a bit of a struggle, and I sort of got sidetracked from this fic. I'm back now though and it shouldn't take me forever to update this again.

I realized things are still a little slow at the moment. They'll pick up soon, I promise. As I was writing this chapter, it was getting longer and longer and longer and I still had a lot I wanted to write. I've been keeping these chapters fairly short so far, so I decided the best course of action would be to split the chapter into two separate chapters. It's shorter now, but I am able to update it now rather than waiting another week.

Long story short, I know it's slow but things will pick up. Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Sanji pulled the burning smoke into his lungs. Good god, how he needed this cigarette. The whole day had been one catastrophe after another. The customers themselves seemed out to sabotage him, complaining about every little thing. So far today he'd had to deal with and older woman who didn't like the color of the restaurant's linen napkins, an old man who refused to turn his hearing aid up and shouted to communicate (much to the irritation of both the staff and the other guests), and there was one bastard that even had the nerve to accuse Sanji of cooking a bug into his soup!

And if the customers weren't bad enough, his merry band of idiots in the kitchen had decided to be as clumsy humanly possible. They'd already lost three plated dishes to the floor today. Anymore and Sanji was going to kick someone's head off of their shoulders. It didn't help his mood to have Patty and Carne make a sarcastic comeback to everything Sanji said. He was really going to kill someone.

The lunch rush was finally over and Sanji had desperately needed a cigarette break. It was clear his lunch break was going to be skipped again today. He could see several cars pull in from his spot on the back steps. The early dinner rush would be starting soon and Sanji would be too busy to step away for even a cigarette. They way today was going, he'd be an idiot to leave the kitchen up to those morons.

With a sigh, Sanji pulled his phone from his pocket. It had been a couple of hours since he'd been able to check his messages, and he could use some distraction before he had to go in and resume his duties.

There were two picture messages waiting for him. The first was from Franky; some greasy, slimy looking car part Franky was obviously very proud of. Franky worked as an auto mechanic in a garage that specialized in restoring and rebuilding old vehicles. If you owned a historical vehicle that needed fixing (or any other vehicle but according to Franky newer cars weren't as much fun) you took it to Franky's shop.

Franky was the only person Sanji wished would send him actual texts instead of pictures, only because the pictures Franky sent were completely without context and of things Sanji could only hardly identify. Mostly they were auto parts Sanji had no idea the purpose of, but beyond that their meaning was lost on the chef.

Sanji only hoped this piece wasn't waiting for him on display on their mantle when he got home. It wouldn't have been the first time.

The second picture was much more welcome to Sanji's eyes, the instant he saw Zoro's name above the photo his face split into a wide grin.

It was the first time he'd seen the green-haired man's face since the bar the night before, and Sanji was pleased to find that the dim lights of an overcrowded bar did the man no justice. He was gorgeous, even if the uncertain look on his face was laughable.

Zoro's arms were folded over his chest, a stance that betrayed his discomfort, but the pull of the fabric against his shoulders revealed them to be broad and strong. The man's sharp jaw was clenched shut and dark eyes stared down the camera like a tiger eyeing its prey. Despite the fact the man was obviously not used to his picture being taken, he was still sexy as hell and Sanji's day suddenly looked a lot brighter when he realized this breathtakingly gorgeous man was communicating with him.

Sanji lost himself for a minute in day dreams that bordered on inappropriate fantasies before he remembered there was probably some reason Zoro had sent a picture of himself to Sanji. It didn't seem like the guy was the type to take a million pictures of himself and send them out for compliments. Sanji had met plenty of people like that and he'd be severely disappointed if Zoro was the same.

The green haired man was standing out in front of an old records shop Sanji recognized only because it stood out so much from the more impressive buildings around it. It wasn't far from the restaurant and, when he had to time to take a meal break, he sometimes found himself walking past it. It was a well-cared for place, despite what the faded sign and practically ancient architecture might suggest.

Perhaps Zoro liked music? Or he was a frequent visitor to that shop? Sanji frowned. His own assumptions didn't sound quite right to him, and despite not knowing the man more than a couple of minutes, Sanji didn't think they suited Zoro either.

Not that it was impossible for Zoro to like music or frequent the shop, but Zoro had seemed like the reserved type. He wasn't very talkative and he was probably fairly private which meant little details like Zoro's hobbies and things he liked were things Sanji was going to have to pick up on over time.

But if Zoro wasn't the type to take pointless self-portraits and he wasn't the type to feel the need to share almost pointlessly small details from the get-go, what was the point in sending Sanji this picture?

Sanji looked closer at the image, taking in the less obvious details. Zoro wore a faded leather jacket, something that looked like it had been stolen from his father's closet and had seen better days…but that wasn't really helpful or important.

The jacket did fit nicely though, despite being obviously ancient and out of style, it fit snug against those broad shoulders and tapered in with Zoro's waist. It left a lot to Sanji's imagination and he wondered exactly what Zoro looked like under all those clothes…

Also not helpful.

Sanji shook his head, attempting to clear all the impure thoughts about the green haired man from his mind. There was a message to be found here and it most likely didn't involve getting naked.

Sanji looked at the picture again, keeping his brain in line and trying to piece together the puzzle to make sense of it. There was nothing about Zoro's stance or facial expression that betrayed anything other than uncertainty and discomfort about getting his picture taken, so there was nothing to see there. The man wasn't holding anything or indicating to anything that might give Sanji a clue. Aside from the record shop in the background, there was nothing special about the picture at all.

Sanji's brow furrowed as he frowned. Maybe he had been wrong about the moss-brain; maybe Zoro really did like sending his picture out.

Sanji was just about to give up hope when the burnt orange color of Zoro's t-shirt caught his eye. It was a horrible color on him, it clashed with his hair in the worst way, but that wasn't what stood out most to Sanji at the moment. There, on Zoro's chest, was a logo, mostly hidden by one leather clad arm. It was so small, and difficult to see, that Sanji couldn't be sure, but he thought it seemed to match the logo on the shop behind the moss-head.

Sanji's mind flashed back to that seemingly random picture of Zoro's schedule from this morning. At the time Sanji had thought it had been Zoro's way of saying he'd be busy the whole day. With this seemingly random picture now though, Sanji wondered if there was a different meaning in the green-head's texts.

"You idiot," Sanji chuckled, stubbing out his cigarette and dropping the butt into the waste bucket he'd placed out there just for his cigarette waste. "I can't tell what you're saying if you cover up the whole point of the picture."

So Zoro worked at that run down little record store? Well it certainly did have a kind of charm, but it hardly seemed like the kind of job that paid well. Did Zoro like that job? Or was it just some place Zoro happened to find a job at?

Sanji was curious enough to think about paying the little store a visit, maybe if he got off early enough he'd be able to swing by before he went home?

With a satisfied hum, Sanji slid his phone into his pocket. His smoke break was over, and judging by the rising volume of the kitchen beyond the door the customers Sanji had seen pull in earlier had placed their orders. It was only a matter of time before they'd be swamped with business again.

He could only hope that working hard now would pay off for him later.

* * *

Zoro sighed and checked his phone for what felt like the millionth time. The screen flashed the date and time, but no new messages. Zoro knew better than to be too hopeful, after all he knew the blond was at work, so surely the other man's lack of response was because he was busy. Not all places were as laid back as Humming Brook Records. Brook rarely enforced any rules on Zoro, aside from the very basic attendance rules (of course Zoro was expected to show up on time and regularly) he had pretty free reign of his days.

The bells attached to the front door of the shop jingled, and Zoro pocketed his phone quickly. He might have been allowed to use his phone when he was sitting behind the register but customers were still important to the shop and Zoro felt it was better to keep his phone aside while they were around.

The man that walked in was almost a head taller than Zoro with light blonde hair, more like cornsilk than golden like Sanji's. The stranger walked stooped and bowlegged and, judging by his state of dress, he wasn't here to purchase the latest pop idol's CD. The man was fully decked out, bright orange pants with a strip running down the outsides, a white shirt, unbuttoned low with a red decorative pattern and a vibrant pink feather boa made up the man's eccentric outfit. He completely his look with white-rimmed, red-tinted sunglasses that curved up to make his eyes seem wicked despite his smile.

"Hey, kid," The man spoke as he approached the counter, greeting Zoro with a wide grin. "Is old man Brook around?"

Zoro bristled slightly at the 'kid' remark. At his age Zoro was hardly a 'kid' anymore, and even if the man was older than him, Zoro sensed that the name had less to do with age and more to do with some kind of social order the man had formed in his mind.

"Sure he is," Zoro said, turning his head only slightly, his eyes never leaving the stranger. "Brook!" Zoro shouted. "You've got a customer!"

There was a loud crashing noise in the back followed by a beat of silence before Brook's unusual laugh drifted out from the back room. Zoro had to resist smacking his palm into his forehead. Without a doubt Brook had somehow just managed to make a mess of the back room he'd spent the past few hours reorganizing.

"Ah Mr. Donquixote," Brook greeted politely as he emerged from the back.

Zoro had never seen the guy before but it was obvious from the tone of his voice and his stiff posture that the guy was important. Brook was very friendly and easy going, and while he was always very polite, it was rare for him to be so formal with anyone.

Just how important this guy was though, Zoro wasn't going to get the chance to find out.

"If you'd like to follow me, we can talk in my office," Brook said politely to the tall man. "Ah, and, Zoro?" Brook added, turning to look at his employee. "Would you mind the shop for a moment, and if you could, there seems to be a bit of a mess in the backroom so…"

It was only because their guest was someone obviously someone of influence that Zoro didn't hit the old man upside the head. Instead he gave Brook and affirmative nod and held back his exasperated sigh until the two men had left him alone.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Zoro pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped it open once more. There was nothing new to be reported, and with another heavy sigh Zoro made his way into the back to clean up the mess Brook had successfully recreated.

* * *

"Gin, I need you for a minute."

There was a kind of horror stricken look in the waiter's eyes as he followed Sanji out of the kitchen and to the front of the store.

The dinner rush was dying off, and only a few late eaters were left finishing their meals. It was nearly closing time, and after a day like today Sanji was more than glad to see it over.

Sanji stopped on the front step of the restaurant, trying to plan out exactly the best way to go about doing this. Gin stopped behind him, the look of panic growing every second Sanji didn't speak.

"Look, Sanji," Gin tried to fish for the words he needed. "If this is about the plate I broke earlier, I'm really sorry. I can offer to pay for it, just don't…."

Sanji turned to Gin. "You broke a plate earlier?!"

"Please don't fire me!" Gin pleaded, his hands clasping together and his head bowed. He was begging, Gin was begging.

Sanji felt sorry for the guy, he looked like he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days. Gin had been fired from every job he'd tried to work, and spent some time working under some overstuffed gangster. He'd only barely avoided jail time, and he'd been hired to the work at the restaurant a week later. It wasn't unusual; most of their staff had some kind of criminal record or haunting past. That was why they were always such a handful to deal with.

But none of them were bad people, Gin included, even if he was maybe a little clumsy.

"I'm not going to fire you, Gin," Sanji sighed, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "That's not why I called you out here."

With the news that he wasn't going to lose his job, Gin visibly relaxed. "What did you need me for then?"

"I need you to do me a favor," Sanji said, pulling the phone from his pocket and handing it to Gin, who took it with some confusion. "I need you to take my picture."

The look the tired waiter gave him suggested that he thought Sanji was probably crazy. It wouldn't have been the first time Sanji had received that look, and he more than used to it by now.

"Look, don't ask," Sanji said to him. He'd already learned that trying to explain to every single person was pointless. More often than not they continued to give him that look, and the breath he'd wasted in trying to explain himself had been for nothing.

"Just…I need you to take a picture of my next to the specials board," Sanji finished, sitting himself down on the step. He was about level with the specials board they put out front every morning, the one that clearly stated the restaurant's name at the top.

"Uh, sure," Gin frowned, still confused. He was happy enough about not being fired though, and he wasn't about to raise a fuss or ask questions that might get him there.

Gin aimed the camera, and Sanji reached up to pull the cigarette from his mouth just as he heard the shutter sound that indicated a picture being taken on his phone.

He glared at Gin as he reached out to accept the phone. The waiter flinched under the look, but Sanji ignored him in favor of making sure the picture looked okay. It needed to convey the message at least, and hopefully not make Sanji look like a total ass, but he wasn't big on multiple retakes. He could spend all day trying to get the picture to look just right, but by then it had lost all of its purpose. No, it was definitely better to make do with the picture taken from the start, as long as it would be understandable.

In the picture Sanji's eyes were averted from the camera, and his hand was half way to grabbing the cigarette from his mouth, but it wasn't blurred and the sign was visible so the message would work just fine. With a nod to himself, Sanji sent the picture to Zoro and stood up, taking one last drag off his cigarette before stamping it out.

"Thanks for the help, Gin," Sanji said to the nervous man. "Now let's finish getting ready for closing. Those idiots can't manage anything on their own."

* * *

Brook and his guest had still not emerged from Brook's office by the time Zoro had flipped the sign on the door and pronounced the record shop closed. Zoro hovered uncertainly outside the wooden door, wondering if he should even bother to interrupt. He was sure Brook wouldn't mind if he just left, he had worked out his shift after all. But it felt wrong to leave without saying anything, and after a few minutes Zoro finally mustered up enough confidence that it was the right thing to do to knock on the door.

"Yes?" Brook's voice called.

Zoro cracked the door open slightly and peaked his head in. Brook was seated behind his desk, elbows resting on the table in front of him, fingers laced together thoughtfully. The eccentric man from before was sprawled in the chair across from Brook, looking entirely at home as if he owned the place.

"Uh," Zoro stammered, his curiosity making him momentarily forget why he was here in the first place. The stranger sent him a wide smile that, coupled with the red-tinted glasses he still wore, gave him a sinister appearance.

"Uh, it's closing time," Zoro pulled his gaze away from the strange man and looked at Brook. "I was about to head out."

"Of course! How could I forget the time," Brook laughed. The sound settled Zoro's nerves a bit, though there was a tension still hanging in the air of the office that he couldn't possibly miss. But Brook's laugh was genuine, not forced, so Zoro felt at least a little better.

"Have a good evening Zoro, I'll finish up here and head home in a little bit," Brook said to him.

Zoro nodded, shooting one last glance as the stranger before shutting the office door. Whoever that man was, he was someone Brook was doing business with, and for now Zoro decided to leave it at that.

Zoro pulled his phone from his pocket, checking he messages while he locked up the front of the store. He hoped Brook would think to lock the back door before he left, otherwise they might be in for a rough day tomorrow.

The new picture message icon appeared on his screen when Zoro flipped his phone open. Without wasting a second, Zoro clicked the message box open and pulled up the new picture.

The picture was of the blond in all of his attractive glory. He was sitting on the wooden steps outside of a building, next to a sign that was titled "The Baratie restaurant's daily specials" and listed out several mouthwatering meal options. The sign was hardly the most mouthwatering part of the picture however.

Sanji wasn't facing the camera. Whether that was intentional or accidental Zoro wasn't sure, but if it was intention Zoro would guess the blonde modeled in his spare time, it looked so natural. He was looking down and slightly off to the side, his fringe hiding most of his face but leaving the defined line of his jaw visible to the camera.

One hand was up, fingers barely brushing against the blonde's soft looking lips. It took Zoro almost a full minute of staring (though his mind had slipped somewhere else entirely) to realize those fingers were actually reaching for a cigarette that was hanging from the man's lips. He'd probably been caught by the camera mid-drag, and as boring as the moment should have been it made for a very attractive picture.

Zoro was half way down the road before it occurred to him that there was a reason the blond had sent this picture, and it probably wasn't to show Zoro just how good those lips looked wrapped around something….

Something was wrong with him.

Zoro scratched at his head, ridding himself of the unnecessary (although very alluring) thoughts and focusing on the image. Sanji was dressed head to toe in white, a fancy buttoned shirt that fit him well and looked like it had come straight from Gordon Ramsay's closet

…Because it was a chef's jacket.

Zoro frowned, looking back to the sign in the picture. He knew that restaurant, it wasn't far from the record shop and sometimes Brook would buy them lunch from there. The food was good, but Zoro had never actually had the chance to stop by the place himself.

So the blond was a chef? That was the only logical explanation. Why else would he be sitting outside of a restaurant wearing a chef's uniform? Still, that wasn't exactly what Zoro had been expecting. It was actually pretty impressive.

And here Zoro had been expecting an artist.

Zoro's steps faltered slightly as he approached the corner. It was late now but…it was possible maybe if he hurried that the blonde would still be hanging around the restaurant. Zoro had worked a few food service jobs in his life, though he'd never worked anywhere as nice as the Baratie, so he knew even after a restaurant closed there were things that needed to be done before the staff could call it a night. If Zoro was fast enough he might be able to bump into the blonde on his way out.

But would that be okay? Zoro wondered. Surely the blonde didn't expect them to always communicate through pictures and never meet in person, did he? But maybe Sanji had some weird "No meeting before the tenth picture" rule or something? Zoro certainly wouldn't put it passed the blonde.

Then again, if they did meet up, Zoro could always pass it off as an accident. The curly-brow couldn't get mad at him about that, and he'd be able to see the attractive almost-stranger in person.

Decision made, Zoro turned back, heading in the direction he was _pretty sure_ the Baratie was in.

* * *

"I swear to god if I come back in tomorrow morning and find the pesto sitting out again…" Sanji's threat trailed off as he fixed a murderous glare on the men in front of him.

"That wasn't us!" Carne replied defensively.

"Relax," Patty said to him before turning back to Sanji. "Take it easy, Sanji, the place is in good hands."

Sanji didn't try to hide the doubtful snort he made at that. Patty and Carne might have been his oldest employees, and he trusted them, but they were idiots and idiots never failed to mess something up.

Usually Sanji stayed with the rest of them, going over their inventories and placing orders as needed before helping the others finish closing. Tonight though, he thought it might be better to leave after the paperwork was finished. After the day he'd had he wanted to get home and rest as soon as possible.

…and maybe he wanted to stop by Humming Brook's as well. Just to see what the place was like, there was nothing more to it than that.

It was a dangerous decision for him to leave the restaurant in Patty and Carne's care. They'd probably forget to lock the doors and he'd come back the next morning to find the restaurant ransacked and the safe empty. It was difficult for him to hand out the spare set of keys, and there were several moments when he'd changed his mind and snatched the keys back from Patty's meaty palm.

It was too late now though. The keys had been passed over a minute ago and the two men he'd worked with the longest were staring him down, willing him to leave with their eyes.

Sanji sighed in defeat. There was no taking back his decision now. If he didn't leave soon he'd probably find himself forcibly thrown out by the two.

He slipped his jacket on and secured his scarf around his neck. With a final goodbye to the two idiots he'd put in charge, Sanji pushed through the back door of the Baratie and made his way down the steps.

The record shop was only a few blocks away, and Sanji walked there the way he did every time he'd gone by there on his break; with his mind wandering away from him. He wondered what he would say to Zoro, if he happened to run into the man. His apartment was a few blocks in the opposite direction, so what excuse would he make for passing by the record shop?

_Oh hey, I was just walking this way…hoping I'd run into you…hoping you'd take me home so I can find out what you look like under those clothes…_

Sanji laughed out loud. He was acting like a teenager; incapable of keeping his sex drive in check and spending nearly the whole day thinking about sex.

But Sanji wasn't usually this bad, and it wasn't just sex he was thinking about. It was sex with a certain green-haired bastard with a bad attitude that had him more than a little preoccupied.

He'd reached the record shop before he'd even realized it. His feet had led him there in good time while his brain was off galavanting through fantasy land. The lights were out and a tall man with a large afro was turning the lock on the door while humming himself a little tune.

"Excuse me," Sanji called to the man.

The man turned. He was quite a bit older than Sanji had expected him to be with that hairstyle, but Sanji didn't pause to think about it long.

"Uh, I was wondering if Zoro was still here?" Sanji asked, suddenly feeling foolish. What if he'd misinterpreted Zoro's picture, what if the other man didn't even work here? The logo on his chest was barely visible, Sanji could have guessed incorrectly.

The strange look the old man gave Sanji certainly didn't help. It was the first time Sanji had ever been doubtful about something he'd learned from a picture, but it was proving to be a really embarrassing mistake.

"I'm sorry I-" Sanji started to apologize before he was cut off.

"Are you a friend of Zoro's?" The old man asked.

"I…yes," Sanji lied. He wasn't exactly Zoro's friend but…he'd like to be, and then some, someday. "Yes, I am."

The old man let out a high pitched laugh that startled Sanji.

"I'm sorry to tell you, my dear boy, but Zoro just left a few minutes ago. You only just missed him!"

Sanji frowned. Well it had been worth a shot. Sanji knew the chances of seeing Zoro were probably slim. He knew what time Zoro would be getting off and he'd been cutting it really close on time, but it was still disappointing.

"Would you like me to tell him you stopped by?" The afroed man asked.

"No thank you," Sanji shook his head. "I'm sure I'll see him next time."

The old man chuckled. "Well then have a nice night!" He said with a wave before making his way up the street, humming the same song as before.

Sanji sighed again looking up at the darkened windows of the storefront. He felt like he'd missed a big opportunity. Still knowing Zoro was so close, it was only a matter of time before he'd see the green-haired idiot in person.

Or so he hoped.

Sanji slid his hands deep into his pocket and nuzzled down into his scarf to escape the cold and, with a feeling of defeat, he made his way back in the direction of his apartment.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry Sanji! You're not meeting anyone just yet.


End file.
